A motorist who was described as “an accident waiting to happen” was jailed today for four years after his overtaking led to a car passenger being killed on a Highland road.
James Fergusson’s car was not damaged in the fatal collision that claimed the life of Julian Kneeshaw, but it occurred in the wake of his dangerous driving.
Fergusson overtook cars on the A85 Crianlarich to Oban road, near Dalmally, approaching a bend and a driver of an oncoming car, Julie Cameron, who was travelling with Mr Kneeshaw, took evasive action to avoid a collision and braked sharply.
But Miss Cameron lost control of her car which veered onto the grass verge and spun across the road into the opposite carriageway and crashed with another vehicle.
Mr Kneeshaw (44) a carpenter, from Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, died as a result of chest injuries sustained in the collision.
Miss Cameron was injured and a passenger in the car she collided with, Valerie Shingler, also sustained injury.
A judge told Fergusson at the High Court in Edinburgh: “As you know, only a custodial sentence is suitable to reflect the serious consequences of your driving.”
Lady Stacey said she accepted that he felt remorse but added that his dangerous driving that day had “a devastating effect” on the family of Mr Kneeshaw.
She said: “Nothing that I say or do is intended to put a value on his life. Of course life will never be the same again for those he leaves behind.”
The judge said she noted that he had three fixed penalties for speeding and added that she regarded them as evidence of Fergusson having taken bad decisions when driving on three separate occasions.
Lady Stacey said she also noted that he had told a social worker that he did not intend to drive again. She banned him from driving for five years and ordered he sit an extended test before getting his licence back.
Fergusson (57) a renewable energy technician, of Campbell Street, Oban, had denied causing the death of Mr Kneeshaw by dangerous driving on October 20 in 2013, but was earlier found guilty of the offence.
After the verdict advocate depute Alex Prentice QC passed a victim statement to the judge, Lady Stacey, from Mr Kneeshaw’s mother.
The prosecutor said: “It contains a very moving account of the sense of loss which she and the family feel as a result of the death of the late Julian Kneeshaw.”
Mr Prentice said: “His family describe him as a loving, caring person always putting others before himself.”
During the trial retired BT engineer Geoff Miller (68) said he had been driving with two vehicles in front of him when he was overtaken by the Ford Focus of Fergusson.
“It cut in in front of me. I had to brake in order to alter my speed. At that particular time I thought it was a bit of a silly thing to do,” he told the court.
He said the Focus had then pulled out to overtake another car in front and he had then realised the driver was not going to come back into his side of the road but was going to go on and pass a further car.
Mr Miller said: “That’s when I had a thought ‘F— me. You are an accident waiting to happen.”
“As soon as I finished the thought I had I was aware of something coming round the bend – a vehicle was approaching us,” he said.
Mr Miller said he realised the back of the oncoming Daewoo car was “twitching” and the vehicle went onto the bank and spun round across the road and collided with a Mercedes.
He said he wanted to get the registration details of the Focus because “in my mind there was no doubt what I had seen happening”.
Miss Cameron (43) who had been in a relationship with Mr Kneeshaw, said she was confronted with a car on the wrong side of the road. She said: “I braked to avoid a head-on collision.”
“I just thought ‘Oh no’ and braked as hard as I could. Just an automatic reaction because I though it was going to smash right into me,” she said.
Fergusson told the court that he considered he was able to overtake the two vehicles because there was “sufficient physical room to do so safely and promptly”.
He said he did not consider there was any danger of a collision between his vehicle and the Daewoo because of the distance between the cars.
He completed the overtaking manoeuvre but caught sight of gravel or dust in a mirror and saw the car spinning across the road and decided to stop and turn back to assist.
Mr Prentice accused him of being “an impatient driver in a hurry” who overtook cars and took a risk hoping that he would get back onto his side of the road avoiding a collision, but Fergusson had denied this.
Defence counsel Barry Smith said: “He says he simply would not have done that had he thought it dangerous.”
He said: “He is remorseful. He, of course, regrets the loss of life here.”